WorkSource Montgomery Seeks Aspiring Entrepreneurs for Launch Program

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 25, 2018

Rockville, Md. – April 25, 2018 – WorkSource Montgomery (WSM), the workforce development resource for Montgomery County, Md., announced its newest initiative, Launch Montgomery, and is currently recruiting future business starters for its 2018 program. WSM is providing funding for 100 young adults to participate at no cost in this mentorship and experiential learning program. Applicants will be accepted on a rolling basis, with the first round starting in early May.

“Innovation is a key value of Montgomery County and our talented innovators are one of our strong assets,” said Ellie Giles, CEO of WSM. “We are thrilled to launch innovation through our entrepreneurial program, convening creative concepts with strong mentorship and best practices leading to the development of new businesses and contributions to our economy.”

Open to 18 to 25-year-old residents of Montgomery County, Launch Montgomery is looking for motivated individuals who are risk-takers, curious, self-driven and eager to discover, experience and demonstrate entrepreneurship. Launch Montgomery utilizes the Quest Forward Learning platform, a digital tool based on the latest learning science, designed to develop skills rather than teach information. Through a specially developed app, entrepreneurs will research, create, collaborate and design components of their future business with the support of their peers and the guidance of their mentor. Participants will complete the program independently online, in-person with their mentor and peers, and amongst the local business community.

The conception originated from Launch Academy, a youth entrepreneurship program founded by Shahab Kaviani, a serial entrepreneur from Montgomery County, Md. Kaviani, who previously founded CoFoundersLab, a digital matchmaking and community platform for entrepreneurs, introduced his success with Launch Academy to WorkSource Montgomery as an idea to address the local county’s 22 percent rate of non-graduated or non-college pursuing students.

As part of Launch Academy, one graduate, Nebeyou Esayas, launched SimpleServe.co in May 2016. Starting with his own high school, Richard Montgomery, Nebeyou created a website where students could digitally submit service learning hours. “It’s really incredible, the transformation I witnessed in Neb to take control of his own destiny, the increased confidence to taking small steps and running tight experiments to work towards designing a solution to bring to market,” said Kaviani. “Neb is speaking with potential customers and has a working product. Who knows if he would have blazed the entrepreneurship trail had he not been shown the building blocks and invested in developing the skills that are crucial to building a new business.”

About WorkSource Montgomery

WorkSource Montgomery, a public-private partnership, convenes key stakeholders to create an innovative workforce system approach for sustainable, industry-driven talent solutions in Montgomery County, Md. For more information visit worksourcemontgomery.com.

About Launch Montgomery

Launch Montgomery is an experiential entrepreneurship learning program aimed to teach highly specialized skills, activate growth potential, and transform its participants into the next powerhouse of change makers, ready to tackle problems with innovative, socially driven solutions. For more information on the program or to learn how to participate as a mentor or entrepreneur, please visit the website at www.worksourcemontgomery.com/launch.

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